Quito

“ Buried between treeless, sombre sierras, and isolated from the rest of the world by impassable roads and gigantic Cordilleras, Quito appears to us of the commercial nineteenth century as useless as the old feudal towns perched on the mountains of Middle Europe. [Pg 60] Not a chimney rises above the red-tiled roofs, telling of homely hearths beneath. ”

“ But when its noise grows overwhelming and its picturesqueness pales to mere uncleanliness, the stout-legged visitor has only to climb over the outer crust of Quito in almost any direction to revel in the stillness and feast his eyes on vistas of rolling valleys and mountains, fresh spring-green to the very snow-line. ”

“ The city of Quito itself, set in perpetual spring, is considered one of the most beautiful spots in the world, almost its only drawbacks being the tremendous violence of the tropical storms to which it is subject, and occasional earthquake shocks.
The poverty of the mines of Quito freed the Indian inhabitants from mining labour, a form of industry which, under Spanish rule, depopulated so many native centres. In consequence of this Quito was reputed to be the most thickly populated province of South America. ”

“ Half the year there is no intercourse between Quito and its Oriental province, for the incessant heavy rains of summer swell every rivulet into a furious torrent, and the path is overgrown and rendered impassable even by an Indian. ”

“ The only really live man in the republic is the president, Señor G. Garcia Moreno, a man of wide views and great energy, standing in these respects head and shoulders above his fellow-citizens. Quito and Quito Valley owe nearly all their improvements to this one man.
It is easy to say what would be the industry of a people who spend much of their time repeating traditions of treasures buried by the Incas, and stories of gold deposits in the mountains. Of commerce there is scarcely enough to deserve the name. Quito is an ecclesiastical city, and is nearly supported by Guayaquil. ”

“ Then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, I described the Cordilleras to her—that world-long, stupendous chain; its sea of Titicaca, and wintry, desolate Paramo, where lie the ruins of Tiahuanaco, older than Thebes. I mentioned its principal cities—those small inflamed or festering pimples that attract much attention from appearing on such a body. Quito, called—not in irony, but by its own people—the Splendid and the Magnificent; so high above the earth as to appear but a little way removed from heaven—“de Quito al cielo,” as the saying is. ”

“ The province of Quito was likewise of immense extent, but was for the most part covered with forests, or composed of marshes or deserts, inhabited here and there by{154} wandering savages. Spaniards can only be properly said to have occupied and governed a valley of some eighty leagues in length and fifteen in breadth, formed by two branches of the Cordilleras.
Quito is one of the most lovely regions which the world possesses. Being in the centre of the Torrid Zone, it enjoys a perpetual spring. ”

“ Quito was originally an independent country, which remained distinct from all the neighbouring states, until a very short time previous to the conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro; but its limits were not the same as they are at present, nor is it of any importance to trace their ancient extent. It is now bounded by Santa Fé on the north, and has within its audience some districts of Popayan, [284] which also forms a part of its northern frontier. ”

“ A road runs round and round the Panecillo, making two full revolutions in so leisurely and dignified a manner that it would seem almost level did not the city below open out more and more with each step forward. At the summit, across which sweeps a never-failing wind from the south, is a view worth many times such a climb. All Quito lies huddled in its pocket below, like the body of a dull-red spider with its legs cut off at varying lengths. ”

“ Quito, are Ambato and Tacunga, and of which I have spoken in my letters to Mr. B.; the former may contain 5,000, and the latter 6,000. The greater part of this population consists of Indians, who all speak the ancient Peruvian language. The largest town in the whole of this extensive valley, between the ridges of the Andes, is Quito. It is a city of 50,000 inhabitants and upwards, and will not yield to any city in South America in point of population, except to Lima and to Buenos Aires. ”

“ Both causes, or sources, exist in Quito. If we look to the royal protection, it is secured to us by the warranty and engagement of our illustrious president, as well as by the supplications he promises to direct to the throne; and with respect to the learned and patriotic nobility, can it be doubted, but that, in ingenuity, and activity of mind, the nobles of Quito are on a par with those of the other provinces?
“The sole causes which can impede the progress of our Society, are envy, discord, and inapplication. ”

“ The city of Quito is large, and contains upwards of 50,000 inhabitants. It is also surrounded by a populous country, of which it is the capital and the centre. On this account I have ordered to it 500 copies of the whole Bible, with a request to our correspondent in Guayaquil to remit 500 more, if the wants of the latter place will admit of it. ”

“ The kingdom of Quito, which eventually formed the most northern province of the empire of the Yncas, consists of a series of lofty plateaux from which rise the towering peaks of Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Chanduy; while both to the east and west a rich tropical vegetation fills the ravines which gradually subside on one side into the valley of the Amazon, and on the other into the Pacific coast. This region was inhabited by several aboriginal tribes, the most important of which were the Cañaris, the Puruaes, and the Caras. ”

“ At Quito, at any rate before the conquest of the country by the Incas, a hundred children were sacrificed to him every year. There is no idea of positive suffering inflicted on the wicked under his direction. But the subterranean abode is gloomy and dismal, like the place of shades in the Odyssey. ”

“ There are shops enough in Quito, to all appearances, to supply the demands, if not the needs, of all the million and a half inhabitants of Ecuador. These are, for the most part, small, one-room dungeons without windows, flush with the sidewalk, with no other front than the doors that stand wide open during business hours, and present at other times their blank faces ornamented with several enormous padlocks. The quiteño puts no trust in the small locks of modern days. ”

“ Standing at a height which, in the temperate zone, would be covered by eternal snows, the city is sheltered by the surrounding ranges from the bitter chill that descends so often upon less lofty Bogotá. In the Colombian capital we were always suffering more or less from cold in our waking hours, except at midday; in Quito it was possible to sit comfortably on a plaza bench at midnight. With all the stages of nature, from planting through blossoms, fruit, and harvest, existing side by side, its days are like the best half-dozen culled from a northern May. ”

“ The town of Quito itself, the capital of a province of the same name, is situated on a plateau, or elevated valley, in the centre of the Andes, nearly 9000 feet above the level of the sea. Yet there are found concentrated a numerous population, and it contains cities with thirty, forty, and even fifty thousand inhabitants. ”

“ The Republic, the capital of which is Quito, has 15 Provinces and two Territories. Of the former, five are along the coast, and ten are inland occupying the mountainous section. The coastal Provinces from the north are Esmeraldas, Manabí, Guayas, and El Oro. Los Rios, although not touching the coast, may be counted with them, as occupying a part of the lowlands, it shares most of their characteristics. The mountain Provinces, beginning at the north are Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, León, Tungurahua, Chimborazo, Bolívar, Cañar, Azuay, Loja. ”

“ Small, even very small, are the means and resources which Quito possesses; but if we all of us unite with the spirit of patriotism, without leaving the smallest room for envy or sloth, Quito will resuscitate, and we shall all of us resuscitate. Let us begin, let us begin, seeing that with constancy and union we shall certainly triumph. That which is never undertaken, can never be brought to a conclusion; and there is not in any kingdom a more mortal paralysis than that of doing nothing. We are all of us poor ”

“ The city of Quito is under the equinoctial line, indeed only seven leagues distant from it. The surrounding country appears to be sterile, but in reality it is very fertile, and all kinds of cattle are bred in it plentifully, besides other provisions, corn and pulse, fruit and birds. The country is very pleasant, and particularly resembles Spain in its pastures and its climate, for the summer begins in April, and lasts until November, and, though it is cold, the land is no more injured by it than in Spain. ”

“ On reaching the summit of a hill, on which Quito had often halted when returning from his frequent hunting expeditions, to gaze in satisfaction at his village in the far distance, and think of Laughing-eye, a shade of deep and unmistakeable anxiety crossed his grave features, and instead of halting, as he was wont to do, he hastened onwards at redoubled speed, for his eye missed the wreaths of smoke that at other times had curled up above the trees, and one or two of the wigwams which used to be visible from that point of view were gone. ”

“ Few buildings can boast of architectural beauty, yet Quito looks palatial to the traveler who has just emerged [Pg 65] from the dense forest on the coast, "crossing bridgeless rivers, floundering over bottomless roads, and ascending and descending immense mountains." He is astonished to find such elegant edifices and such a proud aristocracy in this lofty lap of the Andes. The Indian habitations which girdle the city have no more architectural pretensions than an Arab dwelling. They are low mud hovels, the scene within and without of dirt and disorder. ”

“ As the country seemed inviting, and as good as Cuzco, the Inca here founded a place which he called Quito, peopling it with mitimaes. Here he made edifices and store-houses, saying, “Cuzco must be the capital of one part of my great empire and Quito of the other.” He gave important powers to the Governor of Quito, and placed his own governors and delegates in all the surrounding districts. He ordered that there should be a garrison of men, both for peace and war, at Caranguri; and he removed the inhabitants from one village to another, making them exchange their abodes. ”

“ Quito, capital of Ecuador, population 100,000, altitude 9348 feet, has a world wide reputation as the city on or under the equator. It is within a quarter of a degree. Interesting historically and on account of its unusual and beautiful location, it is backward in many ways. There are fine Government buildings and churches, hotels said to be fair, cultured people, many Indians, recently a tramway. Lately sewers and paving have been authorized. The climate is considered good with a temperature of from 40° to 70°; a half day’s journey will bring one to a sultry valley with tropical vegetation ”

“ Quirinal, one of the seven hills on which Rome was built, N. of the Palatine, and one of the oldest quarters of the city.
Quirites, the name the citizens of Rome assumed in their civic capacity.
Quito (80) , the capital of Ecuador, situated at an elevation of nearly 9000 ft. above the sea-level, and cut up with ravines; stands in a region of perpetual spring and amid picturesque surroundings, the air clear and the sky a dark deep blue. The chief buildings are of stone, but all the ordinary dwellings are of sun-dried brick and without chimneys. ”

“ VIEW OF QUITO AND THE VOLCANO OF PICHINCHA.
"The country improves as we approach Quito. There are farms in great number, and the fertile slopes of the hills appear to be well cultivated. Before we reach the ridge which reveals it, we traverse a valley that might be made far more productive than it is, and when we come to the banks of the Machangara, the river that flows past Quito, we can hardly realize that we are nearly two miles up in the air. But it is really so, as the elevation of the city is little less than ten thousand feet ”

“ They literally never wash so much as a finger, except on some such occasion as a church fiesta, when they may pause at a pool or mud-hole on the edge of town to scrub their feet with a stone. They speak a debauched dialect of Quichua, the tongue of the Incas, mixed with some words of the conquered Caras, though all understand Spanish, or at least the Indian-Spanish spoken in Quito.
After the bullfight a yearling is often turned into the ring for the amusement of the youthful male population of Quito
A group of the Indians that form so large a percentage of Quito’s population. ”

“ Climate, on the coast, hot; on the high table lands, cold and bleak; valleys are free from extremes of temperature. Area, 248,370 square miles. Population, 946,033. Quito, the capital, has 80,000 inhabitants; Guayaquil, the principal seaport, 26,000. Quito is the highest inhabited city, being 9,500 feet above sea-level.
Ecuador was formed from the American Free State, founded by Simon Bolivar. Executive power rests with a President, elected for 4 years; legislative, with a Congress of two houses. President and Vice-President are nominated by 900 chosen electors. ”